Chapter 46: Communication

Long Teng’s casual guess made Xie Sen’s heart flutter. He immediately thought of the red energy. He called out to Adam in his mind. 

Adam responded almost instantly, his voice excited, “Ahhhhh! I feel it! It’s just up ahead to the northeast. It’s very close!”

Xie Sen called up the map, and asked Maine, “Which way is the fight?”

“Northeast.” Maine said.

Xie Sen pursed his lips. So it seemed that those changes must be related to the red energy.

“What are the consequences of red energy on animals?” Xie Sen asked Adam in his mind.

Adam mused, “Red energy is the main fire. The energy is dominant and strong, and the nature of animals is to become stronger. If they feel the red energy, they will certainly take the initiative to approach. If there is no subjective consciousness and they get too close, they will be stimulated. But my five elements of energy all contain a very strong natural force, which is very good for intelligent life, if…If it can withstand the intensity of the energy.”

Xie Sen looked at the fighting beasts. “There seems to be trouble. Many of them are fighting.”

Adam’s voice faded, “I, I didn’t mean to. As soon as I withdraw the red energy, the effects of the red energy will disappear.”

Xie Sen was even more worried. There were so many beasts guarding the intersection, how was he going to get in and find the red energy?

“We’ll figure it out.” Maine saw Xie Sen’s frown, took him by the shoulders and patted him. Then he walked to the edge of the cliff. Xie Sen hurried to follow.

They were at a height where they could clearly see the view below. There was a winding river in the canyon. The water was clear, and the surface shone with fine sunlight. Occasional flashes of dark shadows reminded them that the river wasn’t as calm as it appeared.

There were also animals fighting on the riverbank, mostly winged beasts, about to fly straight down the bluff. As he looked down from above, it was obvious that the closer they got to the downstream location, the more dense the beasts became.

“Wow! Is that a flying eagle beast!” Long Teng suddenly got excited, tapped Bai Jiao’s shoulder and pointed in the opposite direction of the downstream location.

They looked over, and saw that the other mountainside wasn’t far from the location. There was water pouring down from the top, which formed a waterfall with a small but wide drop.

Near the middle of the waterfall, there was a black, bird-shaped beast. It was very large, with wings that spread out more than four meters. It hovered in mid-air, as its sharp eagle eyes stared down. Behind it there was a huge stone. As the waterfall’s water flowed onto the stone, it formed a natural door curtain that blocked the part of the stone nearest the mountain, so only half of the stone was exposed.

The left and right sides of the stone were each blocked by a huge, prone, light gray beast. The skin of the beast and the stone block were similar in color, and without looking carefully, they were completely unnoticeable.

Bai Jiao subconsciously took a step forward. “That‘s a flying eagle beast. Near the stone are giant elephant beasts, the only known purely vegetarian A class contract beast. Legend has it that they’ve long been extinct because of the scarcity of edible plants!”

“Wow! So cool!” Long Teng jumped up and down excitedly.

Xie Sen reached out, and touched his right shoulder. The temperature of the peony had been rising since he reached the edge of the cliff, and reminded him that the red energy was close by.

Maine stared in the direction of the waterfall for a little while. “There’s something behind the waterfall.”

At the same time, Adam shouted, “A’Sen, it’s there! I feel it!”

Xie Sen stared for a while before he spotted the huge dark shadow behind the curtain of water.

Bai Jiao mused, “Looking at it this way, the flying eagle beast and the giant elephant beasts both seem to be guarding it.”

“Super curious!” Long Teng’s eyes gleamed, and he could hardly wait to jump down immediately.

After they heard what Bai Jiao had said, there was really no way not to be curious. When there were so many high-level contract beasts guarding it, in the end, what could it be? The beasts that were fighting everywhere were obviously headed for it as well.

Xie Sen was moving his gaze when something red flashed in his eyes. He looked over. It turned out that the giant elephant beast on the right had shifted to reveal the cliff face it was blocking. The red he saw was a red flower growing on the cliff face, but it was too far away to see what it was.

“There are flowers!” Bai Jiao also noticed. Flowers that grew on a cliff face were really not normal.

Maine looked around, then pointed to the cliff face in front of them. “We’re not too high up where we are now, so we can descend from here. But it’s going to be hard not to be noticed by them once we get down.”

Xie Sen was also worried. While they were standing above, the beasts that were fighting below might not notice them, but when they went down, or even tried to approach, it would be very conspicuous. After he considered it, he could only come up with only one solution. After some thought, he said, “I’ll go down alone.”

“No.” Maine dismissed his proposal with a cold face.

“It’s too dangerous.” Bai Jiao also disagreed.

Long Teng also shook his head. “I’ll go. Even if I’m attacked, I have a way to escape.”

Xie Sen looked at them, at a loss, and said seriously, “Have you forgotten your purpose?” He looked at Maine and Long Teng. “You’re looking for contract beasts.” He looked at Bai Jiao again. “And you’re looking for medicinal herbs.” He smiled. “My purpose is also to find something. Now I’m sure that the thing can be found at the waterfall.”

Maine sulked, and stared at him closely. “My main purpose is to accompany you in your search for that something, and I won’t let you go alone.”

Xie Sen was both moved and embarrassed by his stare. He opened his mouth to persuade him. “I’ll be fine. I have a natural aura. They won’t attack me voluntarily.”

Bai Jiao heard this, and couldn’t help but ask, “You really are a plant contract beast master?”

“Really?” Long Teng widened his eyes. “No wonder you have so much delicious food. So happy!”

Xie Sen smiled, and looked back at Maine. “I’ll go down and try. If things don’t go right, I’ll immediately have the vines send me back.”

Maine’s expression changed only slightly. “No.”

Xie Sen was helpless. “Not even then? Why?”

Maine was silent for a moment. “You’ll get hurt.”

Xie Sen froze, then realized something. His face became ugly. He stepped forward, reached out and pulled down Maine’s coat zipper, then lifted the hem of his T-shirt inside.

Maine’s originally white abdomen was now bruised. The skin around it was still red and bloodshot, which looked particularly frightening.

Xie Sen took a breath of cold air, and blamed himself, “I knew it would hurt. Why did you lie to me? It’s my fault for not thinking it through.”

Maine grabbed his hand, and lowered the hem of his shirt. His tone was calm, “It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt. I’m scarred, so it looks scary.”

“No way!” Xie Sen looked at Bai Jiao. “Is there an anti-inflammatory cream to remove the bruises?”

“Yes.” Bai Jiao said, and handed him a white round box.

Xie Sen looked at Maine, and pointed to the ground. “Lie down, and I will put the medicine on you.”

Maine looked at him with a self-critical expression, sighed helplessly, took the box, opened the lid and dug out a chunk of ointment. He lifted up the hem of his shirt, and smoothed the ointment on like sunscreen in three or two moves.

Xie Sen frowned, “Do it gently. Doesn’t it hurt badly?”

“It doesn’t hurt.”

Long Teng lifted his shirt, and looked at where he had been tied by the vine, but saw no trace of it. He suddenly had a flash of insight. “Wow, A’Sen, fighting with vines seems very powerful.”

Xie Sen was left speechless by his fighting brain. “You want to try?”

Long Teng shook his head. “No.” He hemmed and hawed. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to control myself, and break your vines so I won’t be able to play later.”

The corners of Xie Sen’s mouth twitched. He still wanted to play? He saw Maine return the medicine box to Bai Jiao, and said again, “I’ll go down alone.” Maine’s brow furrowed as Xie Sen grabbed his arm. “Trust me. Although I’m not a big fighter, I have a strong affinity with beasts.” He looked over to the waterfall. “They are all high-level contract beasts. They won’t hurt me. Instead, they will be very close to me.”

Maine’s brow furrowed, and uneasiness flashed in his eyes. “If something goes wrong, there’s no way I can get down there fast enough to help you.”

He really hated this feeling, being completely unsure.

Xie Sen thought about it. He looked towards the canyon, and estimated the distance from the top of the cliff to the canyon. It was less than ten meters. He opened the System, redeemed ten meters of watermelon vine, and summoned it.

Long Teng instantly let out a happy, “Wow! Lots of watermelons!”

Xie Sen said, “Not now.”

He picked all ten watermelons and put them in his backpack. Then he directed one end of the watermelon vine to tie the dead end to a rock on the cliff, while the other end naturally dropped to the bottom of the cliff. He looked to Maine, “If something happens, you can go down the watermelon vine and rescue me.”

Maine clenched his fist, and finally let go. “Okay, but you must be safe first.”

Xie Sen hurriedly nodded. He commanded the watermelon vine he’d previously exchanged to bind him. It lifted him, and slowly moved towards the stone, as it hung like a weave. The distance to the stone was more than ten meters. The flying eagle beast’s eagle eyes looked at him keenly, and gave a short cry that had a strong warning.

Xie Sen commanded the vines to stop, and frowned at the dark shadow inside the waterfall.

The temperature of the petals on his right shoulder had gotten even warmer, and was even spreading to his head. He only felt his head heat up, as the sounds he heard in his ears blurred a bit.

“Moo…” Suddenly, a sound similar to a cow’s call came from his mind. Xie Sen froze. He suspected for a moment that his ears were ringing.

“Human?” The next moment, the same voice as ‘moo’ appeared in his head again. It was a low and gentle voice, like a good-natured elder.

Xie Sen was stunned. “You are?” At the same time, he asked Adam in his mind what was going on.

Adam said, “The energy has gotten into it, and its intelligence has been increased by the energy! Because the System is in you, it can communicate with you.”

Xie Sen contacted it, and its gentle voice appeared in his head again. “You humans call me a flying rhinoceros beast. Are you here to grab the energy too?”

Xie Sen was a little embarrassed. “No, it’s not stealing. This energy was originally mine. I have to take it back.”

“You can retrieve it?”

Xie Sen said, “Yes.”

The flying rhinoceros beast seemed relieved. “That’s great.”

As soon as it said that, the black shadow inside the waterfall suddenly moved. The whole waterfall curtain split open, and a huge animal flew out of it.

It was extremely large, larger than any of the contract beasts Xie Sen had seen. It was covered with hard gray skin, much like a rhinoceros, but with a leaner body. It also had a pair of huge gray wings on its back that glowed metallically in the sunlight.

The most striking thing was the huge pointed horn on the front of its head that was bright red in color. It looked particularly bright.

Adam screamed in his mind, “Red energy! On that horn!”

Before Xie Sen could ask how to recover the red energy, the flying rhinoceros had already flown below him, lifted him up and flown him away.

Xie Sen’s feet suddenly had support, and he was suddenly moving forward. He started to fall violently on the back of the flying rhinoceros beast, but fortunately was in time to command the watermelon vine to grab him so he didn’t fall.

He stabilized his body, then quickly patted the flying rhinoceros beast. “Stop! Stop!”

If he was taken away like this, Maine and the others would be worried!